A Hoosier Chronicle eBook

When the door had closed, the lawyer wrote a brief
note which he placed in his pocket, and dropped later
into a letter-box with his own hand. Mr. Fitch,
of the law firm of Wright and Fitch, was not in the
habit of acting as agent in matters he didn’t
comprehend, and his part in Harwood’s errand
was not to his liking. He had spoken the truth
when he said that he knew no more of the nature of
the letter that had been carried to Professor Kelton
than the messenger, and Harwood’s replies to
his interrogatories had told him nothing.

Many matters, however, pressed upon his attention
and offered abundant exercise for his curiosity.
With Harwood, too, pleased to have for the first time
in his life one hundred dollars in cash, the incident
was closed.

CHAPTER VI

HOME LIFE OF HOOSIER STATESMEN

In no other place can a young man so quickly attain
wisdom as in a newspaper office. There the names
of the good and great are playthings, and the bubble
reputation is blown lightly, and as readily extinguished,
as part of the day’s business. No other
employment offers so many excitements; in nothing
else does the laborer live so truly behind the scenes.
The stage is wide, the action varied and constant.
The youngest tyro, watching from the wings, observes
great incidents and becomes their hasty historian.
The reporter’s status is unique. Youth on
the threshold of no other profession commands the
same respect, gains audience so readily to the same
august personages. Doors slammed in his face
only flatter his self-importance. He becomes cynical
as he sees how easily the spot light is made to flash
upon the unworthiest figures by the flimsiest mechanism.
He drops his plummet into shoal and deep water and
from his contemplation of the wreck-littered shore
grows skeptical of the wisdom of all pilots.

Harwood’s connection with the “Courier”
brought him in touch with politics, which interested
him greatly. The “Courier” was the
organ of the Democratic Party in the state, and though
his father and brothers in the country were Republicans,
Dan found himself more in sympathy with the views
represented by the Democratic Party, even after it
abandoned its ancient conservatism and became aggressively
radical. About the time of Harwood’s return
to his native state the newspaper had changed hands.
At least the corporation which had owned it for a number
of years had apparently disposed of it, though the
transaction had been effected so quietly that the
public received no outward hint beyond the deletion
of “Published by the Courier Newspaper Company”
from the head of the editorial page. The “policy”
of the paper continued unchanged; the editorial staff
had not been disturbed; and in the counting-room there
had been no revolution, though an utterly unknown man
had appeared bearing the title of General Manager,
which carried with it authority in all departments.